Burning Man

Basic Information

Burning Man is an annual festival taking place in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada which culminates in the burning of a wooden effigy. The first Burning Man took place on June 21 1986 (the summer solstice) in San Francisco, California. In 2007, 47,366 people participated.

Sources

Burning Man homepage
Wikipedia entry

Game and Story Use

• A ritualistic gathering with that many people is sure to generate huge amounts of magical energies.
• The Man might animate, or be brought to life by arcane forces.
• Terrorists would find Burning Man an ideal location for setting off a bomb and vanishing into the crowd. (Some would argue that this has already happened, actually.) Alternatively, a biological weapon released at Burning Man could have devastating effects, as people come from all over the world to attend the festival.
• Strange cults gather at Burning Man. It is possible that one of them might have hidden lore needed by the pcs, or be involved in some sinister scheme.
• PCs might be able to find nearly any strange item at Burning Man, but not for sale; the event is anti-commerce. Instead, they would have to trade or perform some deed in order to obtain it.